(600cc) A Review of the Various Catalysts Used for Biomass Gasification in Industry and a Proposed Alternative Solution

Biomass gasification technology is becoming increasingly important as petroleum resources become further depleted.  Not only would increased use of biomass gasification to produce fuel decrease the world’s dependence on petroleum, but it also would not contribute to the net gain of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  However, the process to transform biomass into synthesis gas (syngas) that can be used as a building block to make other types of fuels is not currently economically feasible when compared to petroleum based processes to make the same fuels.  This is because the technology for biomass gasification is not yet developed well enough to be a major source or precursor of the world’s fuel.  One problem inherent in the current processing technology is the catalyst.  Problems with catalyst activity, fouling, and poisoning are a source of much research in industry and academia.  This review presents current industrial catalyst technologies, as well as recent research in the area of biomass gasification catalysis.  Some catalyst types reviewed include rhodium, nickel, and iron containing catalysts.  It goes on to present a proposed improvement over the current catalysis technology.